A little child shall lead

Aminta Arrington (left), her adopted daughter Grace (center) and her two siblings visit friends in Tai'an, Shandong province, where the American family lived for four years before moving to Beijing. Provided to China Daily

A number of Chinese adopted children are returning with their new overseas families to live in China for a while, in the hope that getting in touch with their roots will help the kids in the long run. Tiffany Tan speaks to the families.

As children's voices fill the lobby of Beijing's Lido Hotel chanting the Christmas song Santa Claus is Coming to Town, a girl on the balcony sways to the choir��s rhythm. Dressed in a red sweater and jeans, wearing wire-rimmed glasses and her dark hair in two ponytails, the 7-year-old appears to be just like any other Chinese child in the hall. That is, until she swivels around to a blonde woman behind her and blurts out, with a distinctly American accent: "Mom, look there's Santa!" From an orphanage in Chongqing, Ruth went to live with Lynn Kogelmann in Richmond, Virginia, in late 2007. In the United States, she attended public school, took ballet lessons and went trick-or-treating for Halloween.

Then, in July, she and her adoptive mother packed up their things and moved to the Chinese capital.

Kogelmann, a 38-year-old single mother, wants to give Ruth an opportunity to widen her horizons by living overseas. One of the places on her wish list was Ruth's birth country.

"She's definitely very American, but she has a Chinese heritage and we don't want to lose that," the Chicago native says at their Beijing home, as Ruth sings happily in the background.

"This is just giving her a chance to experience the culture, learn the language be able to see that she kind of comes from two places."

Chris and Aminta Arrington with children Katherine, Grace and Andrew on a trip to Nanjing, Jiangsu province, during the recent October National Day holiday.

Mother and daughter are planning to stay in China for two to four years.

Kogelmann has found a job as a counselor at the International School of Beijing, where Ruth is a second grade student. They rent a three-story house not far from the school, which they share with a pet cat named Snoopy.

Kogelmann is among a handful of parents of Chinese adopted children who have decided to bring their families to live in China for a while, believing the experience will help their kids grow into healthier and happier people.